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Susan has been working on this baby quilt for an expecting grandchild. She has been in to Quilt Vine several times choosing fabric. Susan is a new quilter and brought this in yesterday seeking help with the binding. I was able to show her what she needed to do.

I quilted this Blooming 9-patch for Diann.

There is something about this pattern that I really love.

I also love the fabric that was used in this quilt.

I made a Blooming 9-Patch last year and posted about it here.

Another Blooming 9-Patch

Remember that Blooming 9-Patch class I took earlier this year?

Here is another one from that class.

This quilt belongs to Nita.

Blooming Finale

My Blooming 9-Patch is finally finished. 

(Well, if you don't count the label.) 

When I took her outside for her photo shoot she proved to be very photogenic.

So, I think she really needs to be named. 

Since she starts with the purple in the center and blooms out to the vibrant oranges and yellows, her name will be 

"Blooming Sunshine."

As you can see, she is the perfect backdrop for the orange flowers.

I have documented each step of this quilt. 

 Just click here and you can see the entire process of this quilt coming together, even from my selecting the fabric from my stash. (My only purchase was for the binding.)

In this picture you can see my house. Do you notice that the front door is orange. That would not be a surprise to any of my quilting friends. Also, last fall we had the house resided and last week my daughter and I painted the garage doors to match. They look so much better now. I would really like the carriage style garage doors, but painted will have to do for now.

Stash Report, Week 27, 2011

Used since last stash report: 8 yards

Used year to Date: 82.25 yards

Added since last stash report: 0 yards

Added Year to Date: 72.25 yards

Net Used for 2011: 10 yards

Since my last stash report I have been working on my June UFO. I used 7 1/2 yards for the back. I am still quilting on it. I guess it is not going to be done for June. 

Friday night at 7-Sisters I got the binding put on my Blooming 9-Patch. I used 1/2 yard for that. I hope to get a nice picture of it outside today and I will post it later.

Blooming 9-Patch

I finished quilting my Blooming 9-Patch over the weekend. I picked out some new fabric for the binding. I am not sure when I will get it bound because I need to get moving on my June UFO. I will take some better outside pictures of it after I get it bound.

  

Thank you Alice for teaching this class. I really like how this quilt turned out. I will be carrying the purple out into the binding.

I Am Done Blooming

Last night at the 7-Sisters Quilt Guild I finally finished piecing my Blooming 9-Patch.

I love it!

If you haven't been following and want to see the progress of this quilt you can click on "Blooming 9-Patch" below, listed under labels.

I hope to get it quilted soon since it is busy and will not need real special quilting.

Blooming Some More

Friday night at the 7-Sisters Quilt Guild I had the opportunity to work on my Blooming 9-Patch again. I just love the way it is coming together! 

Working on the Blooming 9-Patch

This is the printed diagram showing how to lay out the Blooming 9-Patch. At the class the other day, Alice showed us how to lay it out. 

I am always looking for a shortcut and I thought if I label the diagram I would not have to lay out the entire quilt. I have started piecing the top and it is working.

I used a different color marker on every-other row to make it easier to keep track of what row I am on. Each row (except the 3 center rows) has a duplicate on the other side of the quilt. So, I made 2 of each row. I started on the outside and stitched 6 triangle to an E 9-patch. I did this for all of the rows except the 3 center rows. (You must be careful here because the triangles are directional.) Continuing in this manner I stitched the 5 block to the D 9-patch. As I went I finished to shorter rows. I also crossed off what I sewed together as I went. This really made the piecing easier. (I don't know if I did very well explaining it though.)

 Here my fabrics are all numbered.

 Here my stacks of 9-patches are lettered.

 The rows I have completed so far (2 of each).

6, E, 5, and D pieced for all of the rows except the center 3.

I do not know when I will get the chance to work on this again, but I will keep you filled in.

Blooming 9-Patch Class

In March at this post you saw me choosing my fabric for a Blooming 9-Patch. Yesterday I attended the class.  Alice did a great job teaching the class. She had quite a few samples done up for us. I don't know why I did not take any pictures of them.

These are the blocks for Alice's working sample to demonstrate how to lay out the top.

Here is Alice's sample laid out for all to see. Alice had a print out for us to follow when laying it out. I think that if I label the diagram I can pick the blocks up in order and sew them together, allowing me to skip the step of laying it out. I will try that when I get to that point and let you know how it goes.

This is the center of Lucille's quilt.

This is the center of Chris' quilt. Chris is having a real problem with this because she hates orange. After the initial class meeting several of the ladies went to a quilt shop to choose fabric. (I did not go along since I was using stuff from my stash and I did not want to be tempted. You know how difficult it has been for me to not buy fabric this year.) Anyway the teacher and some of the other ladies really encouraged Chris to get out of her box. By the way she reacted, and the look on her face, I believe this is way far out of her box!

 

I was telling Chris how I used to hate orange and somewhere along my quilting journey my tastes have changed. My favorite fabrics used to be darker more conservative prints like Thimbleberries and Civil War Prints. Now I am never drawn to those types of fabrics. I prefer bright, lively fabrics and large scale prints. Colette brought to my attention that the turning point for me may have been when I had surgery, and I think she might be partially right. In April 2004 I had a total hip replacement. I was determined after that I was going to start doing things I enjoyed in life. In May 2004 my longarm was delivered. 

In July my Mom, Youngest Sister, Daughter and myself flew across the country to Seattle to visit another sister. She had lived there since 1992 and I had never been to visit her. While we were there we rented a van and drove to the Outdoor Quilt Show in Sisters, Oregon. We also visited many quilt shops. It was on that trip  I discovered fabric by designers like Jane Sassaman, Kaffe Fassett, and Valori Wells, to name a few. That was definitely a turning point in my fabric preference. Upon my return to Maryland I was extremely disappointed to not be able to locally find fabric that I had fallen in love with. I even talked to 2 of the local shop owners and they said they would not carry that style of fabric because it would not sell here. About 5 years later some of the ladies in my guild began to like Kaffe Fassett fabric. Can you believe we are that much behind here on the Eastern Shore of Maryland? I am all for supporting your local shops but if they will not carry what you want I am thankful for on-line shopping. Boy, I really got off on a tangent there. 

Well, now maybe you know me a little better and why I am drawn to the fabrics that I love.

Here is a picture taken in July 2004 in Sisters Oregon.

In back: sister #3, my mom, myself, sister #2

In front: my daughter and my niece

Still Blooming

1.

I spent a couple hours again today trying to choose fabric for my Blooming 9-Patch. Choosing fabric for a quilt is just about the best part of quilting, but it is also the most stressful.

2.

I have definitely decided against the first five layouts here. I just can not cut into the third fabric from the left for a Blooming 9-Patch. I absolutely love it and I do not want to cut it up into tiny little pieces.

3.

It is a Kaffe Fassett fabric and I will use it someday, just not on one of these. Have you ever bought fabric that you find difficult to cut into?

4.

After my post the other day about the Blooming 9-Patch I got an email from Michele. (Someone I never met who commented on my post.) Michele has made numerous Blooming 9-Patches and she had great insight on choosing fabrics.

5.

She also sent me a link to view some of the Blooming 9-Patches that she has made. They are fabulous. After this I knew without a doubt that I needed to reconsider my fabric choice.

6.

I really want to cut the strips and sew them together tonight so I need to make a decision. 

7.

I think I have decided on two different layouts so I guess I will eventually make two Blooming 9-Patches.

8.

As you can see after the other day I decided to throw some orange into the mix. I just can't seem to stay away from orange.

9.

The two layouts I decided on are numbers 7 and 10.

10.

I think I will start with number 10 because it has some fabrics in it that I have had trouble using or I do not really like any more.

 As it stands now (unless I change my mind again) I will be cutting into one of these stacks a little later.